diff --git a/lib/cmdln.py b/lib/cmdln.py
index 70c841f..e3a6653 100644
--- a/lib/cmdln.py
+++ b/lib/cmdln.py
@@ -619,6 +619,7 @@ def _help_preprocess_option_list(self, help, cmdname=None):
         indent, indent_width = _get_indent(marker, help)
         suffix = _get_trailing_whitespace(marker, help)
 
+        self.optparser = self.get_optparser()
         if self.optparser:
             # Setup formatting options and format.
             # - Indentation of 4 is better than optparse default of 2.